WO-S coach: 90% of mistakes are correctable

David Berr, Beaumont Enterprise

By David Berry

Published 4:43 pm, Monday, August 18, 2014

West Orange-Stark's Chase Rutledge, No. 10, and Grant Lapoint, No. 13, look for a way to advance the ball during Friday's scrimmage against Nederland. The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged Friday night at West Orange-Stark.
Photo taken Friday 8/15/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

West Orange-Stark's Chase Rutledge, No. 10, and Grant Lapoint, No....

Nederland quarterback Sage Seay, No. 10, is run down by West Orange-Stark defense during Friday's scrimmage. The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged Friday night at West Orange-Stark.
Photo taken Friday 8/15/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX

Nederland quarterback Sage Seay, No. 10, is run down by West...

West Orange-Stark quarterback Chase Rutledge, No. 10, leaps a pair of players as they go to the ground during Friday's scrimmage. The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged Friday night at West Orange-Stark.
Photo taken Friday 8/15/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

West Orange-Stark quarterback Chase Rutledge, No. 10, leaps a pair...

The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged Friday night at West Orange-Stark.
Photo taken Friday 8/15/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged...

The West Orange-Stark and Nederland football teams scrimmaged Friday night at West Orange-Stark.
Photo taken Friday 8/15/14
Jake Daniels/@JakeD_in_SETX
Photo: Jake Daniels

No matter where the West Orange-Stark football program goes or what it does, high expectations will always follow.

The Mustangs were expected to have a rebuilding season in 2013 and advanced to the fourth round of the playoffs.

Fans and the public expected WO-S to really break out this season. And after two weeks of practice and a scrimmage against fellow Southeast Texas power Nederland, expectations are still the same.

WO-S head coach Cornel Thompson knows that his team still has a long way to go to fulfill its complete potential, but he saw good things in the scrimmage.

"We looked at the film and we did some good things," Thompson said. "We got some people that are not where they ought to be, and we have a couple of surprises. Overall, the football team is not exactly where we want them to be but they never are at this time."

Thompson named Troy Brinson and Jeron Preston as two positive surprises from practices and the scrimmage. Brinson, a senior cornerback, played football as a sophomore but did not in his junior year. He is expected to add even more depth to a secondary that has four FBS commits, possibly allowing senior Will Johnson to focus more on wide receiver. Preston, a senior wide receiver, had two catches for 20 yards in the scrimmage and should give quarterback Chase Rutledge another reliable target to throw to.

One of the more interesting performances of the scrimmage came from running back Grant Lapoint. The senior fumbled twice, but he also scored both WO-S touchdowns. The second score turned out to be the game-winner, a swing pass that he caught from Rutledge and took down the right sideline, diving to reach the pylon.

"It's a scrimmage, a practice against strange faces," Thompson said. "Fumbling is unacceptable, but it is a practice. If it was a game, (Lapoint) wouldn't have got that far and he knows that. But Grant's a great kid, I love him to death. He didn't go out there to fumble. He stepped up and he blocked pretty well and of course he got down that sideline and scored."

Overall, Thompson said that about 90 percent of mistakes that his team made were correctable. Among them were three turnovers (all fumbles) and eight penalties for 90 yards. He attributed some of it to players getting their first playing time against varsity competition.

But some of it was to be expected going up against Nederland, a 5A team that not only has more quantity as far as players, but is always known as a well-coached team.

"You have weaknesses going into the scrimmage that you know about and a team like Nederland will exploit them," Thompson said. "And they did. They confirm them for you. We've got some places offensively and defensively that we need to shore up."